Status: 01.10.2022 2:09 p.m
In autumn, the corona numbers increase once more significantly. That’s why new requirements in railways and nursing homes should apply from today – but not everyone is happy with it. The RKI now counts more than 150,000 dead.
FFP2 mask requirement on long-distance trains and long-distance buses, lifting of the rules on airplanes: the new corona requirements came into force as of today. In the long-distance trains, a surgical mask was previously sufficient, an FFP2 mask was only recommended. According to a spokeswoman, a medical mask has also been sufficient for Flixbus so far.
In regional traffic, the federal states will now decide for themselves on protective measures. However, their health ministers had spoken out in favor of sticking to the applicable mask requirement on buses and trains. In airplanes, on the other hand, the mask is no longer required.
Countries can tighten requirements
Nationwide, FFP2 masks must also be worn in clinics, nursing homes, medical practices and other healthcare facilities. A negative test is also required when entering care facilities and hospitals. Employees must be tested several times a week.
The federal and state governments had decided on the new regulations via a further change in the Infection Protection Act – otherwise the remaining corona rules would have expired in September. It also stipulates that the federal states can impose even stricter measures on their own, such as compulsory masks in shops and restaurants or tests in schools and daycare centers.
The federal states can also make further specifications, such as upper visitor limits for events, distance specifications in public spaces or masks outside if distances are not possible. However, the state parliament must first determine that there is a concrete risk to the health system or other important areas of care.
“Pure window dressing”
From the point of view of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, the new regulations are not sufficient. There was a lack of humane and efficient corona strategies, said the board of directors of the foundation, Eugen Brysch. Giving people in need of care an FFP2 mask outside the room is an inappropriate coercive measure. “So the already rapid increase in the number of infections in inpatient geriatric care cannot be stopped.”
He also complained that there were no “external task forces that would provide immediate nursing support in the event of a chain infection”. In addition, alternative quarters are necessary to separate infected and non-infected nursing home residents. A few hundred euros a month for hygiene officers or quick tests three times a week are often “just window dressing”. Instead, a “PCR test regime” is needed. But the federal government and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach would not show any initiative to enable those in need of care to live a dignified life with the virus.
Lauterbach warns of new variants
The federal working group of senior citizens’ organizations (Bagso) had also criticized the FFP2 mask requirement in old people’s homes a few days ago. No other population group is expected to wear a mask in their own home despite four vaccinations. The new regulation by the Infection Protection Act ignores the needs of nursing home residents for social contacts, closeness and touch.
Health Minister Lauterbach, on the other hand, was satisfied with the new requirements. “We decided on 95 percent of the measures I wanted,” he told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper”. Although he wanted to keep the mask requirement on airplanes, he did not give up the wish without consideration.
“We now have a strict mask requirement in clinics in clinics and doctor’s offices. It’s worth more because there are many more people in surgeries or waiting rooms than in airplanes.” Lauterbach said he might rule out a “killer variant” of the virus in the fall. The bad news is that there are now variants in which the immune escape is very pronounced.
Seven-day incidence at 497
The latest figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) show that 150,046 people have died of Covid-19 in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic. According to the German Foundation for Patient Protection, more than a third of people in geriatric care died.
With the beginning of autumn, the number of infections is also increasing significantly once more. The health authorities reported 73,856 new corona infections to the RKI today (previous week: 46,964) and 116 deaths (previous week: 90) within one day. The nationwide seven-day incidence is therefore 497.0. The day before, the value of new corona infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week was 466.0 (previous week: 308.9; previous month: 237.0).
However, this information only provides a very incomplete picture of the number of infections. Experts have been assuming for some time that there will be a large number of cases not recorded by the RKI – mainly because not all infected people have a PCR test done.
